GTT to design cryogenic fuel tanks for CMA CGM’s LNG newbuilds

French LNG containment specialist GTT has been chosen by French shipping company CMA CGM to design the cryogenic fuel tanks of 12 new LNG-fuelled container vessels.

CMA CGM group is dedicated to accelerating maritime transport’s energy transition with a fleet of 44 LNG-fuelled container ships by 2024.

The 12 new LNG tanks will be fitted with the Mark III membrane containment technology developed by GTT and will be able to load 14,000 cubic metres of LNG.

Mark III technology is a cryogenic liner used to contain LNG at low temperatures during shipping, onshore and offshore storage, at atmospheric pressure.

The vessels will be delivered between the end of 2023 and the third quarter of 2024.

These container vessels were constructed by the Chinese shipyards Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Jiangnan Shipyard. Each of the shipyards will build six vessels, each able to carry 13,000 and 15,000 containers.

The order of the six 15,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels completes the order of five similar container vessels signed in June 2019 with Jiangnan Shipyard.

Chairman and CEO of GTT Philippe Berterottière said: “After nine container vessels ordered in 2017 and five in 2019, the choice of GTT technology is confirmed by CMA CGM for the liquefied natural gas propulsion of its vessels. Used as a marine fuel, LNG significantly reduces ship emissions, reducing CO2 emissions by 20 per cent compared to traditional marine fuel, and eliminating sulphur oxides and fine particles, as well as almost all nitrogen oxides. Participating in the decarbonisation of maritime transport alongside the CMA CGM Group and our partners Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and Jiangnan Shipyard are a source of great pride for GTT and its teams, and offer further proof of the efficiency and safety of our technological solutions to support the energy transition of ship-owners.”